(Photo By Nasser Al- Azzazi)
The military trial of Ahmed Abu Deraa in Ismailia was postponed on Sunday to this Wednesday, 2 October.
Independent newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm’s Sinai correspondent faces charges of intentionally spreading false information about the military. The session was postponed to prepare military intelligence to be considered in court.
Abu Deraa will remain in custody until the next hearing.
The 38 year-old award-winning journalist was arrested on 4 September at a military base, when checking on a relative who was injured and arrested during a raid on the Sinai village of Muqat’a.
Amnesty International earlier this week called for the “immediate and unconditional release” of Abu Deraa, whom they said was being detained for challenging the military’s account of events in North Sinai.
The rights group considered the detention of Abu Deraa a hearkening “back to the Mubarak era, when journalists faced formidable obstacles reporting on military activity in the Sinai Peninsula.”
A number of other groups have criticised Abu Deraa’s detention and trial before a military tribunal, including the Federation of Journalists and Correspondents in Northern Sinai.
Last week, the No Military Trials Campaign called upon the Constituent Assembly to completely ban military trials for civilians. The suspended 2012 constitution prohibits military trials for civilians, except in cases where harm is inflicted upon the military.
